Broward sheriff's divers, with help from a towing company, on Thursday pulled a minivan from a canal near Interstate 95 and West Atlantic Boulevard in Pompano Beach. The minivan reportedly had been stolen from Miami-Dade County last year, officials said. Water management workers stumbled upon the submerged vehicle while riding a boat in the canal, officials said. Sheriff's divers arrived at the site about 9 a.m., then swam to the minivan to ready it to be pulled away by a tow truck.

A Deerfield Beach woman is accused of rear-ending a vehicle and attacking its driver with a baseball bat, according to the Broward Sheriff's Office. Marisol Echevarria Hiott, 40, is being held without bond on charges that include aggravated battery, burglary and leaving the scene of a crash, records show. The arrest report states Hiott intentionally rammed her 2012 Dodge minivan into the back of a vehicle at 277 SW Second St. about 9:30 p.m. Sunday. She used her minivan to block the other vehicle so driver Librada Garcia, 46, of Pompano Beach, could not drive away, the report stated.

Two juveniles were arrested after shooting a gun during a joyride in a stolen minivan, then crashing it, according to Boynton Beach Police on Friday. The two teens, whose names or ages were not released, were caught after a witness reported the juveniles in a 2004 Dodge minivan recklessly with a passenger holding a gun out of the window. Witnesses later told police the passenger was shooting the gun into the air. Police said they tried to pull the minivan over but the kids sped off, eventually coming to a stop near the intersection of NE 16th Ave. and NE 1st Ct. after crashing earlier and getting a flat tire.

Minutes after warning a 4-year-old boy of the dangers of the street, Kathreen Gilbert watched in horror as the child and his grandmother were run down in their own driveway by an out-of-control SUV. Gilbert said she ran to help her neighbors, who were pinned up against the side of the grandmother's minivan. But it was too late. "He was limp in my arms," said Gilbert, 48, of the fatal drama that played out about 6:30 p.m. Saturday in the 700 block of Northwest 42nd Street. "I think he was dead right there.

Broward Sheriff's deputies are searching for whoever abandoned a minivan in West Park on Wednesday. The van was leaking fuel from a large container inside on the swale in the 100 block of Virginia Road around 2:30 p.m. A hazardous materials crew cleaned up the leak, officials said. An estimated 250 gallons of fuel were discovered in the container inside the van. Investigators suspect it was rigged to siphon gasoline from an underground tank at a gas station in Miami Gardens. Detectives were dusting the minivan and its contents for fingerprints when they found a hole in the floor that was covered with carpeting and a board.

The green 1997 Dodge Caravan with Florida tag 546YQB wasn't just an old gas guzzler - it was a secret gas stealing machine. When Boca Raton Fire Rescue reached the crashed vehicle about 7 p.m. Sept. 14, the crew looked inside and made an unlikely discovery: A 500-gallon plastic tank and 55-gallon drum loaded with fuel, along with a battery-powered pump, rubber hoses and an open hole in the floorboard between the driver and passenger seats. Onelio Castro Arroyo, the minivan's driver, had recently made an illegal fill-up from unlocked, underground storage tanks at the Chevron station, 690 W. Glades Road, according to court records.

The driver of an SUV was injured Monday morning when he clipped a 40-foot palm tree and slammed into a minivan parked in a driveway, officials said. The accident took place on a quiet, residential street in the 2500 block of Northeast 26th Terrace at about 6:15 a.m. According to Fort Lauderdale Fire-Rescue, the driver was taken to Broward General Medical Center with minor injuries. The tree was broken off at the stump, landing on the neighboring driveway. The SUV, a Ford Expedition, caused heavy damage to the rear of the parked minivan.

An ex-convict out of jail just five days was arrested and accused of robbing a hotel kitchen worker and stealing his minivan as he arrived for work on Saturday, city police said. Rolando Gonzalez, 61, of Miami, was robbed at gunpoint at the entrance to the kitchen of the DeLido Spa, 40 Island Ave., Miami Beach. Money, a wristwatch and the minivan were stolen. Keith Gale, 21, whom police described as a career criminal released Jan. 31 after four months in jail, was charged with armed robbery, carjacking and possession of a firearm by a felon.

Two people were killed and six _ including one child _ were seriously injured on Sunday evening when a minivan overturned on Snake Road, about 5 miles north of Alligator Alley. Officials had not released the identity of the victims or the condition of the survivors. Five passengers were taken to Broward General Medical Center _ several by helicopter _ and one was taken to a Hendry County hospital. The cause of the accident was unclear, but Broward County Fire and Rescue spokesman said it may have been related to the narrow road, in a remote section of the Everglades.

Talk about the epitome of uncool-on-wheels! My teens refused to drive it, even if it meant they had to stay home. Their younger sister griped that it was "so ugly!" But that 4-year-old minivan, with all its dings and scratches, had taken my gang on many adventures, starting when my youngest was in diapers, right up to college tours for my oldest. That minivan, along with the three that came before it, took us camping in Maine, fishing in Minnesota, skiing in Vermont. Minivans took us to South Carolina's beaches, to family reunions in Colorado, to places like Colonial Williamsburg and Gettysburg, where we tried (not always successfully)

A Davie man was sentenced to life in prison Friday for the murder of his ex-girlfriend's 9-year-old daughter in 2010. Jody Gordon, 45, was convicted May 29 of first-degree murder and six counts of attempted second-degree murder stemming from a confrontation with his ex, Shawana Newson, outside the Stirling Apartments on September 22, 2010. Prosecutors said Newson, who had filed domestic violence complaints against Gordon, was attempting to flee her home, loading her minivan with her five children and an adult friend.

The news visited the home of a man who works at a South Florida television station Wednesday morning when his SUV caught fire just steps from his duplex door — and also engulfed the minivan in the next parking space. "My mother-in-law came in screaming, 'The car is on fire!' " said Greg Reid, who woke up after a neighbor alerted his mother-in-law about 7 a.m. "I jumped out of bed and darted for the front door," said Reid, 32. Reid, a part-time editor at WSVN-Ch. 7, said he parked his 1999 Ford Expedition about 11 p.m. Tuesday after arriving home from work and didn't notice anything unusual about the vehicle.

A 58-year-old man who was riding a bicycle in West Boca was killed when a minivan veered out of control and struck him on Wednesday morning, deputies said. The fatal collision happened just after 9 a.m. on Lyons Road about a mile north of Clint Moore Road in suburban Boca Raton . The dead man was identified by the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office as Steven Brown, of suburban Boca Raton . Marion Rosenstein, 68, also of suburban Boca Raton , was driving the minivan.

Two juveniles were arrested after shooting a gun during a joyride in a stolen minivan, then crashing it, according to Boynton Beach Police on Friday. The two teens, whose names or ages were not released, were caught after a witness reported the juveniles in a 2004 Dodge minivan recklessly with a passenger holding a gun out of the window. Witnesses later told police the passenger was shooting the gun into the air. Police said they tried to pull the minivan over but the kids sped off, eventually coming to a stop near the intersection of NE 16th Ave. and NE 1st Ct. after crashing earlier and getting a flat tire.

Broward Sheriff's deputies are searching for whoever abandoned a minivan in West Park on Wednesday. The van was leaking fuel from a large container inside on the swale in the 100 block of Virginia Road around 2:30 p.m. A hazardous materials crew cleaned up the leak, officials said. An estimated 250 gallons of fuel were discovered in the container inside the van. Investigators suspect it was rigged to siphon gasoline from an underground tank at a gas station in Miami Gardens. Detectives were dusting the minivan and its contents for fingerprints when they found a hole in the floor that was covered with carpeting and a board.

Hollywood police have released a sketch of the suspect in the sexual assault of a 17-year-old girl over the weekend. The girl was walking at South 24 t h Avenue and Jackson Street on Saturday night when the man forced her into his minivan, drove to the 2700 block of Pierce Street and sexually assaulted her, according to Hollywood police. The suspect is described as black, about 20 years old, 6 feet tall, 200 pounds, with a short beard, dreadlocks that stretched down his back and a diamond earring in his right ear. His minivan was described as old, dirty, and light gray or gold.

Contrary to popular opinion, minivans come in a variety of flavors, not just vanilla. The front-wheel-drive Pontiac Montana is for folks who need the room for the family but want the same sporty ride and handling they've come to appreciate in the Grand Prix sedan. The front-wheel-drive Toyota Sienna is for folks who need room but want the soft ride and handling they've come to appreciate in the Camry sedan. The all-wheel-drive GMC Safari is for folks who need family room and want sure-footed ride and handling for winter driving they've come to appreciate in their GMC Denali four-wheel-drive sport-utility vehicle.

Kyla Jackson remembers sitting wedged between her three siblings for hours on end, baskets of dirty laundry swirling around her in the sweltering heat of the only shelter she could count on: a blue minivan. Being homeless meant eating McDonald's for dinner every night, using public bathrooms and waiting in the van until a family friend could take them in for the night. "It was horrible," says Kyla, 15, who now lives in a Salvation Army shelter in Hollywood. She said the three months her family bounced between motels, the minivan and other homes made her focus on one goal.